


Morale boost

by Courageous_Cat



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Anal Sex, Banter, Hand Jobs, Light Bondage, M/M, Oral Sex, Power Dynamics, Semi-Public Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:47:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26027467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Courageous_Cat/pseuds/Courageous_Cat
Summary: Lavi and Bookman are being held captive in the Kamelot mansion. Tyki Mikk, unhappy with his situation, passes the time by goading Lavi on occasion. When they each attempt to manipulate the other, they eventually arrive at an agreement. Then, as Lavi’s situation gets more dangerous, their agreement changes shape into something better than either of them could have hoped for.
Relationships: Lavi/Tyki Mikk
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In my previous story with Tyki and Lavi, they played nice. So, now I’m exploring an adversarial dynamic between them – which still leads to them getting together!

Tyki stumbled up the front steps to the Kamelot mansion, arm around ‘Blue Eyes’’ lean waist. At least, that what he thought of him as. He had chestnut brown hair, a cute dimple at the corner of his mouth, and a carefree smile. He mentioned his name at one point, and it might have been something like Paul. 

He’s had a good night, all things considered. A night all his own to do what he will – which turned out to be to hitting the bars. No demanding Millennium Earl. No overbearing Sheryl. He drank heavily, and talked and laughed with strangers until one in particular caught his interest. It felt good to be this free again – he missed it still. He missed the power to decide where to live, how to work, who to spend his time with. 

He doesn’t even have complete control over who he should fuck. When he wasn’t on a mission, he was often ‘encouraged’ by the Earl or his brother to go ‘socialize’ with this debutante or that Lord (or his son). And though he got some kicks out of it, it was hardly ever with anyone that was his type. Tyki quickly got bored of all the shyness or embarrassment pouring out from these bedmates. 

But Blue Eyes had not part in politics, and made enough innuendos to Tyki while they were talking to know they were going to have a really good time. 

The rest of the house should be asleep by this late hour, so he didn’t feel the need to hurry them both to his room when Blue Eyes look around the grand entrance with surprise and appreciation. Plus, Tyki really did want to rub it in Sheryl’s face – he just didn’t want to hear the verbal garbage that would be aimed at Tyki as a result. 

“You live here?” he asked, impressed.

“It’s my brother’s” Tyki explained casually with a shrug. He hadn’t put on a gentlemanly air all night, relieved to not need to. But he knew that now that they were here that his manner didn’t match the home. It’s not like he really cared what the man thought, however, as long as it didn’t put him off to continuing the night. The best way forward, Tyki thought, is to distract him into losing interest in asking any more questions. 

He stepped closer until he was just a foot away. “Would you like a drink? Or…I could give you a small tour?” Tyki smiled charmingly. Blue Eyes looked like he wanted to kiss him, but was restraining himself for propriety’s sake. Well, as much as Sheryl liked to pretend otherwise, this house was not proper. Tyki closed the distance between them. Then grazed his knuckles against the man’s cheek, which made him close his eyes. Tyki leaned down and kissed him soundly. Sparks flew. He opened his mouth and Tyki deepened the kiss. He leaned into Tyki, molding to him, kissed back just as enthusiastically. Tyki held him at the base of the neck, and by the waist, and he moaned a little into the kiss. 

When they parted a few minutes later, he replied, “I’ve had enough to drink. A small tour sounds perfect.” 

Tyki heated with anticipation, and smiled. “Just this way, then,” he answered, and turned around to lead the way. 

The anticipation built intolerably as they walked down the hallway, and Tyki stopped them. He pushed him gently against the wall and kissed him again, this time their bodies flush. He buried his hands in his warm brown hair and kissed him needily. The man made a small sound in his throat and kissed back. Then Tyki’s leg was between his and he rubbed against his obvious hardness, eliciting another delicious noise from the man’s throat. 

“Bedroom,” Blue Eyes urged, all pretense gone. 

Tyki pulled away obligingly, and lead the way to his room again – hiding a too-wide smile. Head fuzzy with want. 

Then suddenly the Cyclops was in the hallway too, staring at them with a neutral expression. The same expression he always seemed to be wearing - when he wasn’t in excruciating pain. At least the Bookman didn’t have any hard-to-explain bruises at the moment – that would no doubt be troubling for Blue Eyes to see, and end their night abruptly. 

Tyki kept his pace and didn’t acknowledge him, until the redhead went into his room. He more or less had total freedom of movement at this point, since Fidora can see all that he sees thus making escape impossible. Well then, Cyclops and Fidora both could both get a good look of him and Blue Eyes, he guessed. 

“Uuh..” the man started, awkwardly.

“He’s just a guest of my brother’s. It’s fine,” Tyki soothed. When they finally made it to his bedroom, they had as good a time as Tyki had hoped. 

x

When he got to his room, Lavi’s mind was screaming and he wasn’t sure why. He’s been tortured and interrogated repeatedly for months. Been deprived of sleep and food. Why does he care one bit about what he had just seen? From what he’s overheard, Tyki Mikk simply enjoyed sex – a lot. But there was nothing nefarious to it besides (sometime) political gain…nothing to bat an eye at. He needs to get a grip. 

x

Lavi sat at the dining table with Tyki Mikk, eating slowly, just the two of them. It was silent for a while as they ate. Lavi didn’t even know why he was ‘invited’ to diner, instead of someone bringing him his food in his room. Bookman had a good reason to decline – he wasn’t in great shape at the moment. A pang went through Lavi as he thought of it. 

The lady of the house was visiting her parents, and Sheryl and the other Noah were simply ‘out’, he knew. Lavi would definitely not have been welcome if they were here. So, it was just him and Tyki. 

“You know, I was thinking,” Tyki said, chin on his hand in thought. “Even if you got away from us somehow…If you tell the Order what Fedora did to you, put those parasites in your belly, they’ll never trust you.” He sat up strait and looked directly at him now. “There’s no way you can learn anything important if they knew,” he needled. 

Taunting statements. So Lavi was here for Tyki’s entertainment, huh? 

Yet, Lavi knew he was right. And he also knew that, depending on the circumstances, even though it would make him a spy for the Noah, they would not stop their observations. Lavi dug into his meal grumpily, though he was simultaneously still overjoyed that he was getting a full meal. 

Armed with his months of observations of Tyki, he decided the best course of action was to needle back. “I guess we all have to come to terms with limitations imposed on us,” Lavi said with some degree of Lavi-like nonchalance, but with a great deal of the Bookman neutrality he’s settled into here. “So like, I get the impression you don’t get to choose who you go out on a date with very often. And you don’t even like to date women very much – but you do. Don’t you?” Tyki frowned, and Lavi pressed on. “So while you’d like to think of yourself as a playboy, Tyki, doesn’t that just make you the Earl’s whore?” Lavi raised his eyebrow for emphasis. 

Tyki’s eyes narrowed. He was definitely pissed off. Too far? Not sure. Lavi would have to watch carefully. Then the Noah leaned forward, grabbed Lavi’s plate – the redhead conscious of his nearness as he did this – and started pulling it toward himself. 

Lavi’s hands flew into action, and instinctually grabbed his plate from both sides, holding firmly, desperately. His composure crumbled. “I’m sorry,” he said insistently, and imploring him with his eyes to let his plate go. “I haven’t eaten a full meal in a week.”

Tyki gave him a satisfied smirk and let go of the plate, trailing his hand back across the table and into his lap. “I suppose I could chalk your bad attitude up to hunger then,” he teased. 

Lavi ate quickly now, a part of him afraid of his plate being taken again. 

“I enjoy it just fine, Cyclops. Though, yes, I much prefer the type that you saw last night,” he answered. “But, what can I say? My pretty face gets results.” He shrugged. 

Lavi, still convinced by experience he would get the most information from him by being a brat (though he would be sure not to cross the line this time!) said, “That’s not it. You’re actually really ugly, Mole-Face.” Unfortunately, calling the Noah ugly got Lavi thinking about just how not-ugly he was. Tyki Mikk was actually probably the handsomest man he has ever met. He glanced at his face for a moment too long before forcing himself to look him dead in the eye again.

Something changed in Tyki’s face - a positive realization. Lavi hoped very much it wasn’t that Lavi thought he was exceedingly attractive. “You know, Lulubell was lamenting to me the other day that although she’s been trying to sweeten you up, you were completely unresponsive to her attentions.” Tyki definitely looked like he was trying to prove something about Lavi. That knowing smile. Damn. 

“I’m hardly in the mood to flirt when I’m being held against my will,” Lavi pointed out. “But if you’re insinuating I like men and not women, then yeah, that’s true.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “So, what, are you devising some plan to take her place? That wouldn’t help your case while trying to convince yourself that you’re not a…” Lavi had enough sense to not say the word ‘whore’ this time, but the implication was crystal clear. 

Tyki laughed bitterly. “You’re not making yourself very appealing are you? So I very much doubt it.” 

Lavi’s mind froze up. So…Tyki’s not against the idea out-of-hand?

“Plus, Fidora can see whatever you do. What with his parasites squirming and wiggle all inside of you. That might turn some people on, but that’s not for me. At least not if it’s him watching,” he rolled his eyes. “Maybe if it was Mightra,” he said as if thinking to himself now. “He’s actually good-looking under that get-up he wears.” 

Now thinking about the parasites since Tyki brought them up, Lavi wasn’t hungry anymore. Sometimes he felt things moving around inside him, and now that he was focused on it, he wasn’t sure if the wriggling was really happening now or imagined, kind of like when you make yourself feel itchy just because you thought of it.

Tyki went on, as if still talking to himself, “Then there’s Joyd. Our personalities have merged together quite a bit, but there’s still something in my head that’s definitely just him. Does that make him a perpetual voyeur?”

Lavi was still ill-at-ease, but listening to Tyki, he realized a way to get into the Noah’s head a bit - maybe even convince him to help himself by helping Lavi. “How much of you is left?” he asked.

“That’s none of your business,” Tyki replied with tried patience, then commented, “Always with the questions.”

Lavi shrugged at being called out. “Are you really satisfied with how things are now? I’ve been here for a while now, and it’s really obvious that you’re being groomed to be exactly what the Earl wants. And the inevitable conclusion is that you won’t be you anymore at all.” Lavi could tell he struck a nerve, he just hoped things would go the way he wanted from here. That Tyki wouldn’t snap. 

He planted the seed, though. Even if the Noah gets pissed today, it might be enough for him to think about it on his own. From all of the Noah he’s met, Tyki is definitely the least satisfied with his situation. Lavi waited anxiously for his reaction behind an uncaring expression.

Tyki was quiet for some time. Eventually he said casually, “Man, you’re thorny. You should be nicer to me, since I’m the only one that seems to be trying to keep you alive.”

Lavi was surprised by the claim. “Why?”

“Well, it’s not for your charming personality,” he commented. “It’s just that the Earl doesn’t want you and Bookman dead, and we all know that Sheryl gets carried away,” he shrugged. Lavi shivered at the memory of past abuse. 

“Why does the Earl care?”

“He wants his victory recorded, of course.” Tyki sighed then said, “Maybe you’ll be nicer if you had a friend here besides the Old Fart. Allen should be here soon enough,” he goaded. “Though, he won’t actually be Allen so maybe it’ll just make you grumpier.” 

Lavi didn’t respond to the jab. That was enough verbal sparring for one day. He finished his dinner. 

Tonight actually been kind of fun in a way – though maybe that was due to a lack of actual entertainment.

x

Lavi was in pain. Today was the worst it’s ever been. 

A few weeks ago, it was slow and drawn out, today was all fast and severe. He was still intact, nothing broken, but he got the feeling that that would be on the table soon as well. He was bloody and bruised, his nerve endings screaming in agony from whatever-the-fuck energy Sheryl pumps him with. 

At least the pain was slowly fading as Bookman tended his injuries. He wasn’t sure how much more he could physically take of this, and the looks Bookman gave him let him know he felt the same. 

Hours later, he was in bed, resting – if you could call it that. It felt more like he was just existing, staring at the ceiling, which would have to be enough. 

Someone opened the door without knocking and came through into the room. Likely Bookman checking up on him. 

Lavi was surprised to see a perplexed Tyki Mikk instead. When Tyki took him in, his face changed to a surprised expression. “What happened to you? Then after a moment, “Never mind, I can guess.” 

“What do you want?” he asked neutrally.

He hesitated, then said, “What you said the other day, about me losing myself…You’re right.” He let out a slow breath. “Today, I was fighting, and though it’s been fun for a long time now - the satisfaction was so intense, the bloodlust so strong…It didn’t feel like me…I’m slipping away bit by bit.”

‘Of all the times’, Lavi thought tiredly. Despite everything that just happened to Lavi, and shoving aside the fact that Tyki might have just come back from hurting people from the Order, he took the opportunity he had been waiting for, and said, “Maybe there’s a way to resist it. To remind yourself of who you are and keep yourself intact as much as possible.”

Tyki sat down on the bed, “I’ve been trying, but all I’ve managed is to slow things down. It’s not enough.” He shook his head. “It’s because, to even be my human self now is uncomfortable - almost painful, and when I resist the Noah too much, my scars hurt – a lot. It’s excruciating.”

“You mean, from Allen’s sword?” the redhead asked.

“Yeah.”

Lavi thought, then suggested, “Push through it, Tyki, even if it’s uncomfortable, without pushing too much too fast.”

Tyki startled at that, as if not actually expecting Lavi to be helpful. “I’ll try that,” replied. Then, “Sheryl will be away for a few weeks. I’ll see that you can have that time to recover.”

Lavi nodded. 

“It seems like you’ll be alright,” Tyki commented. “I image Bookman took care of you.”

“I guess,” Lavi replied. “But my time here is only gunna get worse, and I’m not sure I can…” Lavi tried to let some of his vulnerability show, but thought better of revealing any real weakness, of how close he felt to breaking down if he let himself think about it. 

“Maybe a morale boost would help?” he asked, surprising Lavi. 

“What, like a party?” Lavi answered darkly.

Tyki chuckled, then said, “Close your eyes. Or, eye I guess,” he said. Not in the jabbing tone Lavi had come to expect from him, but rather a gentler teasing.

Lavi didn’t. He just stared back at him.

“Maybe I should call you ‘Dead-Eye’ instead. So cold,” Tyki teased some more. “Come on, I won’t hurt you,” he urged. “I’m trying to make you feel better.”

Lavi was still confused, but closed his eye, and waited. 

Then, warm, soft lips were on his and it was niiiice. He hadn’t known anything nearly as nice as this for months, and he kissed back without even thinking about it. Their lips moved against each other and Lavi was awash in the sensation of it. As touch starved as he was, he deepened the kiss, still without thought. Tyki’s tongue met his with interest, and he felt the Noah’s hand touch against the side of his face lightly. 

Their tongues slid hungrily against each other and Lavi never wanted it to stop. Tyki had a long tongue, he noticed, and Lavi idly thought about what else that tongue could do. At length, when Tyki pulled back and settled back to his previous position, Lavi opened his eye. 

“If you come up with any more ideas to help me, just let me know,” Tyki said with a smirk. 

“And if you can come up with ways to keep Bookman and me in one piece, just do that,” Lavi answered quietly. 

Tyki gave him a pleased look and left. 

And Lavi reeled. 

What just happened? Did they just set up with some sort of mutual reward system? He had hoped to leverage Tyki’s doubts about his circumstances, but it’s taking shape in a way that he never would have guessed. 

The Noah called it a morale boost. Lavi laughed. Well, it was at that!


	2. Chapter 2

It was weeks later, and Lavi and Bookman were feeling much healthier. Lavi gained back most of the weight that he lost since they were captured, and slept in every day until Bookman insisted he was well enough to work more than he had been. 

So when Tyki walked through the wall right into his room unexpectedly, he didn’t really mind as much as he would have weeks ago. 

They hadn’t been alone since he had kissed him. And Lavi was curious about why he came to him now. 

“Tyki,” he said, his surprise and caution and curiosity showing through, sitting up straighter in his chair and putting his pen down from where he was writing. 

“Hey,” he said casually, putting his hands in his pockets. “So…I’ve been trying what you said, but I’m not sure if I’m doing it right or if it’s doing any good.” He rubbed the back of his head. “So I was thinking,” he stepped a little closer. “maybe I need to be interacting with someone while trying to be my human-self.” He pulled a deck of cards out of his pocked and held it up. “How about a card game?” he asked. 

“Sure,” Lavi said, intrigued. He was sitting at a small two-seat table against the wall, and Tyki walked over and took the other seat as Lavi cleared the table of his books and put them away in a small bookcase. 

When Lavi turned back toward Tyki, his look had changed. While his skin had previously been the telltale gray of a Noah, and eyes a golden hue, he looked – normal. He had his natural skin tone, and his eyes were a dark brown. He still looked posh in his button-down shirt and slacks, hair pulled away from his face. But the change was still striking. 

They were both a bit guarded at first, and it made it awkward as they played. Over time though, when neither of them had a biting word for the other, they slowly relaxed more and more. Tyki smiled at his winning streak – three in a row – and it was the most genuine smile Lavi had seen on his face since he had first met him as a regular guy on that train. 

That smile burned into his mind so that he saw it even when it left his face, and when Lavi won a hand, his second out of the ten they’ve played so far, Tyki lit a cigarette and said to a slightly smiling Lavi, “You have a tell.” 

“I do not,” Lavi said, and he meant it on a deeper level than Tyki knew. The redhead knew he didn’t have a tell because he didn’t give himself a tell. No, this facet of ‘Lavi’ is much more reserved than when he was at the Order, giving little of himself away. He’s genuinely slipped a few times – from the tortures he’s endured and in reaction to the occasional kindnesses he’s been given – but it was offensive to Lavi’s sense of self just now for Tyki to suggest he acted in a way he didn’t intend to, even if he didn’t know that that was what he was suggesting. 

“You do,” Tyki insisted jovially, “You were smiling – just slightly, and your face brightened up.”

Lavi was shocked to find that he was smiling a little, even now. And now that he thought about it, he realized that he’s been smiling for a while. And then he noticed the warm feeling he’d been holding onto ever since Tyki smiled so openly. 

Shit. Lavi’s smile wasn’t just about the card game, it was about being around Tyki himself. The first person to be so nice to him in such a long time. Man, he really was starved for attention. Gramps was helpful in their shared struggle, yes, but never kind. And as a Bookman, Lavi shouldn’t be swayed by kindness either, he reminded himself. He tried to distance himself from the feeling. “I guess I was smiling,” he admitted, and schooled his features. 

Tyki seemed saddened by the loss. 

Ok, Lavi may have made a mistake. Tyki needs positive feedback, he reminded himself, and he came to Lavi specifically to get it. Tyki has made things much more comfortable for him here, and all he wanted in return was honest human interaction. 

He corrected his error. “I’ll find your tell, too. Everyone has one,” Lavi said emphatically, half-smiling as he said it. 

Tyki laughed, and Lavi’s heart fluttered. “You can try!” he teased good-naturedly. 

They played for a long while with this newfound friendly rhythm between them. They even traded some funny stories. 

Tyki talked about his friends, and Lavi talked about some of his sillier acquaintances. His friends seemed like genuinely good people that really looked out for each other…good people except for the hustling of course, he thought bitterly…which Lavi was subjected to personally, so he should know. But on the other hand, that’s the way of the world isn’t? ‘A fool and his money are soon parted’ and all that. 

Then Tyki told Lavi about the way he used to mess with Sheryl when they were growing up - and that turned out to be very telling. The messing always seemed to be push-back against Sheryl’s controlling nature (so it was like that even before he became a Noah, huh?). Like when his brother wanted him to join a fencing club and Tyki had no interest, but Sheryl hounded him until Tyki snapped and signed Sheryl up for folk dancing. 

It quickly became obvious to Lavi that it wasn’t just brotherly disagreement between them. Tyki hated Sheryl’s guts, even left home at some point to make his own way in the world. But ever since they both turned out to be Noah, Tyki has been forced back into his orbit ever since. All the mockery of the gentleman’s life Tyki engaged in made a lot more sense all of a sudden. 

All of this went through his mind as Lavi laughed at the stories. Filed it away for his records – and to maybe use it to his advantage somehow. 

But the more they played, the less Lavi had to pretend to be having fun. Lavi wondered how much of it was acting on Tyki’s part. 

After a particularly funny one about how Tyki donated all the food for Sheryl’s oh-so-perfect party to the soup kitchen, Tyki said, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye, “You know, you can be good company when you aren’t being all thorny.” 

“It’s easier to be good company these days,” Lavi said honestly, still feeling lighthearted from laughing. 

“You’re better looking nowadays, too,” he said with a wink. 

Lavi refrained from rolling his eyes. Tyki was just saying that because it was part of the mutually-beneficial game between them. “Flatterer,” he said lightly instead.

“Well yeah, but it doesn’t mean it’s not true.” Tyki held his gaze with kind eyes, as if to emphasize his sincerity. It made Lavi’s face heat up, even though he reminded himself that Tyki was just acting at human emotions. 

Tyki gave him a final pointed look, then gathered the cards up slowly, and shuffled. “By the way,” he said slyly, making him seem a little more like his Noah-self, “I asked Fidora to take a break from keeping an eye on you, starting around now, and for a few hours.” 

Lavi was shocked. “Th…Thank you. I can take a shower now without worrying whether he’s watching me now,” Lavi half-joked.

Tyki’s physical appearance changed again – back to a Noah. Now Lavi felt his own sense of loss. “Here’s a little inside-information for you,” the Noah said conspiratorially. “He’s a total prude. I’m quite sure he’s pointedly not looking whenever you’re in the shower.” He thought for a second, then asked, “Does that mean you haven’t been…”

“I’ve been more than a little hesitant, yes,” Lavi answered quickly, uncomfortably. “When I do, I just, close my eyes.”

Tyki laughed. “Well you can have at-it, whenever the mood strikes,” he said with a hint of seduction in his voice. Lavi started to get the feeling he brought up the subject deliberately. “Or…maybe you could use another boost to morale.” Tyki’s eyes flicked up to his. Bingo. But being right hasn’t made the redhead more prepared to answer. The fact that he was half-hard was an answer in itself, however.

Well, he didn’t correct the terms to their ‘agreement’ in the interceding weeks, so now that push came to shove, why back out now? This agreement was a loose understanding that they should help each other out. And that, if they wanted to, intimate things like the kiss Tyki gave him, could be part of it. Either to make them even, or maybe even in addition to that, to cement their agreement, like a handshake? 

And if he wasn’t backing out (which he wasn’t), then he should just play it up - make Tyki want to keep coming back. And, if was being honest with himself, he needed this. The deprivation has been too much. 

It’s decided then. 

Lavi sat back deliberately in his chair and palmed his half-hard length, drawing attention to the outline against his pants. Tyki looked down hungrily at the action. “I could definitely use a boost right now,” he agreed with a confident smile. Tyki looked back to his face, and smiled predatorily, making Lavi shiver with need. Then Lavi got up and walked to where Tyki was sitting. Tyki’s eyes followed his progress. He lifted his leg and sat in Tyki’s lap. 

Tyki grabbed his hips and held him firm, stroking with his thumbs. And it felt so good. Then Lavi put his arms on his shoulders, leaned forward and kissed him, and had the chance to really appreciate it this time, instead of being distracted by surprise. It was slow and searching and firm. It made Lavi tingle all over. 

Then Tyki’s tongue was everywhere in his mouth, and Lavi kept up only with great effort. The intensity was potent. Was he like this all the time? It was overwhelming. At this rate it was Lavi that was going to want to keep coming back. Which reminded him of what he needed to do. 

He grabbed fistfuls of Tyki’s hair and pulled him closer still. Tyki moaned in appreciation and Lavi smiled against his mouth. Then the redhead sat so that their bodies were flush. He could feel Tyki’s erection against his own, and he ground against him with a rolling of his hips. 

Lavi gasped at the feeling and did it again. Tyki’s hands went under his shirt and up his back, pressing his fingers into his skin. Lavi broke their kiss and sucked and bit at his neck. Tyki stopped his own movements and gasped, until suddenly he was pulling off Lavi’s shirt with enthusiasm. He immediately bit at Lavi’s chest and ground back against him. 

Lavi lost all semblance of sense as he all but tore off Tyki’s shirt and touched everywhere he could. His toned chest, up his biceps, along his neck… Tyki opened Lavi’s pants and freed his straining erection. The redhead let out a breath of relief before he took Lavi in hand. He cried out at the firm grip. Then his hand was moving dexterously up and down his shaft, making Lavi breathe harder in pleasure. 

Tyki paused for a moment, and the loss of his hand made Lavi open his eyes. Tyki was squeezing lube onto his hand that he had apparently kept in his pocket (?!) and worked his length in a way that drove Lavi wild. He pushed through the haze of pleasure enough to undo Tyki’s pants and free his dick. 

Now, Lavi has been with a couple of guys at this point. Figured himself out a year ago and dated casually in Paris when he wasn’t out on missions. But he’s never salivated at the sight of someone’s dick quite the way that he was doing right now. He wrapped his hand around his cock, excited to no end, and gave it a few tugs. 

Tyki moans and thrusts into his fist in response, then hands the small tube of lube to him. Lavi squirts it into his palm and takes him in hand again. They both seem to get lost in the feel of it, and Lavi can hear Tyki’s ragged breaths near his ear. Tyki then takes both of them in his hand and he can feel the way his dick is rubbing smoothly, satisfyingly, against Tyki’s. Lavi puts his arms loosely around Tyki’s shoulders again for balance, and feels his climax building. 

“You love the way I jerk you off, don’t you?” Tyki asks seductively, still close to his ear. 

“Yes,” he said, eyebrows furrowing. He thrusts into Tyki’s fist - against his cock - until he’s coming over Tyki’s hand with a cry in thick spurts – the Noah pumping them all the while until he’s spent.

Once Lavi recovers, he fists Tyki - sucks at his neck and pinches a nipple between his fingers. Tyki groans, breath coming faster and faster. He’s close. The redhead pumps him enthusiastically, pays special attention to the head, and Tyki comes, stiffening his body, with a rumbling growl. 

They stay just like that, with Lavi’s hands on his shoulders, for a couple of minutes. 

Eventually, Tyki says, looking up at him, “Damn Lavi, you’re a fucking fireball.”

Lavi laughs breathlessly. “And you, Tyki Mikk,…are mind-meltingly sexy.”


	3. Chapter 3

Once Sheryl came home, things got bad again. Worse than before. Lavi got the impression that Sheryl felt he was running out of time, but no amount of clever probing from Bookman and Lavi got the Noah to spill what was so urgent. 

He and Bookman talked often now, Lavi revealing all he knew from his discussions with Tyki, and they decided that the Earl must be up to something big and he would be needing them to observe – and so they would be out of the mansion and Sheryl’s custody soon.

Bookman congratulated him on his fact-finding, and acknowledged that he was spending time alone with Tyki Mikk with, “Be careful. He’s dangerous and cunning.” Lavi had to agree, but they both knew it was worth the risk. 

Tyki really could be trying to soften him up. But at the same time, the Noah’s worries for his future were real, and they were sharp. Lavi knew it. The redhead was softening him up as well – listening to his concerns and trying to help him stay himself. 

What did that make them? Partial allies? Or just a couple of idiots?

Bookman obviously correctly guessed at what being alone with Tyki might also mean, because he said, suggestively, “And, my other warning to you now is the same as what I told you at the Order. There is no disgrace in having human needs, only in being partial to whom you spend that time with.” So, pretty much, ‘Get your rocks off however you need to – just don’t make the mistake of having feelings for whoever you do it with.’ 

A rare burst of humor ran though Lavi at that. Tyki was the last person he would develop feelings for – especially when the Noah was incapable of having those feelings himself. Except – he remembered how grateful he felt for his help so far, and the intensity between them when they were together, and he remembered how the Noah’s human-self had been convincing enough to give Lavi butterflies. Maybe he did need to get a grip…

When he went back to his room after that last discussion, he thought about his friends and comrades. Allen, on the run from – everyone. The Fourteenth gaining consciousness inside him. It must be horrible for him. Of Kanda, who went through some kind of tremendous trauma from what the Earl put him through in North America, and for a long time the Noah all thought he died, until recently – when he was spotted with Allen. He was so relieved to hear that he was ok, and so surprised that he would lend help to Allen. And of Leenalee and Krory and the rest, fighting against an enemy that constantly overmatched them. 

Lavi actually thought it was odd that the Earl didn’t press his advantage more than he does, and when he brought it up to Bookman he didn’t answer. It left Lavi disgruntled sometimes, knowing that Bookman was holding back from him, too. 

Were his friends thinking of him as well? And what would they think of him now? This unfeeling, pain-twisted, Noah-fucker. He needed to stop thinking of himself so harshly. He really did. It wouldn’t do to look at himself through their eyes. They weren’t Bookmen. They wouldn’t understand it. Yet, he missed them so much. And he couldn’t help but wonder if he would even be able to relate to them anymore if he returned to them. A rare tear slipped down his cheek. Then another. Then, he just couldn’t stop crying. 

x

The next time Lavi and Tyki paid each other much attention, it was weeks later. Lavi noticed Tyki’s growing distress in the last few days, and for the first time, came to him instead. 

“Yo,” Lavi said, when Tyki opened his door.

Tyki was visibly surprised by the visit, “What’s up?”

“Is something wrong?”

Tyki’s face told him that there was but that he didn’t want to say. Eventually, he warned, “The next time Sheryl tries something, it could go wrong, for both you and Bookman.”

Lavi’s blood ran cold. “Is he going to kill us?”

“If he does, it won’t be on purpose. But that wouldn’t make you any less dead. I tried to put him off, but he’s going ahead. He thinks it will make Bookman talk.”

“What does he want to do, exactly?” Lavi asked worriedly. 

“Broken bones, missing pieces…” he trailed off. 

“You said the Earl wants us alive,” Lavi pushed. 

“That’s true, but the Earl’s… inconsolable at the moment. Distracted. Sheryl’s using that distraction to his advantage.” That news made Lavi curious about what could possibly make the Earl inconsolable, but he had the more important mission of keeping all of his pieces on his own body at the moment. 

“Is there any way you can make him give it up? Won’t the Earl be mad at you if you can’t?”

The distress in Tyki’s face intensified. “No doubt. But then I run the risk of Sheryl making my life a living hell…as if it isn’t one already.”

“Can you help us get out of here?” Lavi asked boldly.

Tyki narrowed his eyes. “Don’t get the wrong idea about our arrangement. It’ll only go so far. That’s a lot to ask for. I’d be putting my neck out. Way out. It would be much easier for me to let Sheryl have his way.”

“Come with us then. Listen, I’ve been thinking.” He resisted putting his hands on Tyki’s shoulders because it was too familiar – as well as the fact that Fidora would be able to see it. “You don’t want to fade away.” He stated. “Allen doesn’t want to be taken over by the Fourteenth. You could work together to figure out how. I can’t speak for Allen, but I know him. He tried to exorcise you once, he wanted to help you…and you wanted to be helped. That’s the sort of deal I’m talking about.”

Tyki turned and faced to the side. Lavi caught a conflicted look. That was a positive sign.

Lavi turned outward as well, no longer looking at Tyki. “And I’ll help you, too,” he promised. “I have two goals. All I want is to see what happens, and to keep my friends safe. Helping you doesn’t prevent that.” Lavi thought that talking in terms of benefits and losses, and in terms of motivations was the most likely to work here. Tyki wouldn’t be swayed by emotion. 

“There might not be a way to prevent me from fading,” Tyki points out with distrust.

“It’s better than doing absolutely nothing about it, isn’t it?” he stated. “And staying here - doing what the Earl tells you to, which will inevitably make you fall faster and faster into your Noah memories, isn’t the answer.”

Tyki was quiet for a long time. Then said, “Bookman will let you go off and help me and Allen?”

“I’ll have to ask him to be sure, but I believe so, yes.” He held off on the knowledge that Bookman thinks that Allen is the key to ending the war, making it very likely that he would get his blessing. “And even if he would normally say no, I’m sure the assurance that we live is more than enough to convince him.” 

“I slipped again, the other day,” Tyki revealed after a moment. “Worse than before. I got lost in the battle, and before I knew it - I didn’t feel like me anymore. I took so much pleasure in ripping his heart out slowly, seeing him die. Just the memory is getting my heart pumping,” he said both troubled and excited, a little unhinged. Then he forcibly calmed himself some, breathing slow and deliberate. “I didn’t used to want to get my hands dirty.” He laughed. “What will be left of me by the end? Some death-seeking monster? Isn’t that what Joyd was like when you all fought him on the Arc?” he asked. 

“He had little sense,” Lavi confirmed quietly. 

“Alright,” Tyki said at length. “Sheryl will be back in five days. Give me some time to get everything ready.”

x

The evening of the next day, Lavi went to Tyki’s room again. He had been invited in passing earlier in the day. 

“You’re not being watched right now,” the Noah said from his seat on the couch against the back wall, as Lavi closed the door. He took a drag from the cigarette between his fingers. 

Lavi felt some small relief. “So we can talk more freely.”

“Yeah.” He gestured for Lavi to sit on the couch, too, before putting his hand back on his lap, the other still poised along the back of the couch and holding his cigarette, his legs crossed. Lavi did sit, a little heavily, legs squarely parted. “So, to get us out of here with the least amount of trouble, we’re leaving at night and when no one else is in the house, except for some Akuma servants because there’s no helping that.”

Lavi’s pulse quickened at knowing things were moving forward. “Ok. I talked to Bookman and he agrees to everything we talked about - but he’s still kind of weak.”

“I’ll carry him on my back if I have to,” he offered. 

“Thanks, I should be fine carrying him, but I’m less free to fight that way if it comes to that.” 

Tyki nodded, “You won’t be fending for yourself. I’ll do my part.” Then, “We can’t use the Arc, it’ll leave a trace. I’ll have a carriage ready, a rental.”

“Is there a way to get our Innocence back?” Lavi asked. 

“I’ll be able to get it before we go?” Tyki guessed. Lavi wasn’t very reassured by that. 

“How about before, in case we have to leave early?” the redhead was quick to suggest. 

Tyki shook his head, “I don’t want you do ditch me and leave me with the aftermath. The aftermath being a seething Millennium Earl and Noah of Desires,” he said pointedly. “I’ll get them before we leave.”

“We wouldn’t do that,” Lavi insisted.

“You’ll have to forgive me for not taking you at your word. These are high stakes,” Tyki explained, stubbing his cigarette out in the ashtray on the side table. 

“Ok,” Lavi allowed, and then let out a breath of relief. “This can work. Wait…what about the parasites?” 

“I could kill Fidora. Or trick him into removing them,” Tyki thought out loud in a way that suggested that he really didn’t care which. 

“How about try the second, and if that doesn’t work try the first,” Lavi suggested. “It’s less risky.” 

Tyki shrugged his acceptance of Lavi’s proposal.

“Ok, now I think its gunna work,” Lavi stated. 

Tyki smiled at him. “Would you like some wine?” he asked, motioning to the bottle and empty glasses also on the side table near the Noah.

Lavi sat down nearer to him to get a better view – red wine, and not the cheap stuff – and then nodded that he did. Tyki poured the wine into both glasses. “This is cause for celebration, I think.” He handed Lavi a glass. “To freedom,” he said, looking happier than he’s ever seen him.

“To freedom,” Lavi answered. Tyki’s excitement was contagious. And Lavi let it sink in a little further that this might actually work. 

They both drank about half a glass before setting them down.

As the initial excitement calmed, Lavi thought it was a good time to make the Noah feel even better about the decision. To counter any doubts that might try to creep up on him later, as the escape grew closer. “You know, you were a really convincing regular human guy when you tried.”

Tyki smiled. “It felt like acting at first, but – it got a little more natural over time,” Tyki confided. “It was nice to feel a little carefree again.” 

“For me, too,” Lavi said. “If you want to try again another time, just let me know.” 

Tyki got a mischievous look in his eye, and a moment later his appearance changed. “How about now?”

“Sure,” Lavi said, getting over the surprise, taking Tyki in as he leant back more casually and shook his hair free – so that his curls spilled over onto his forehead. Lavi wanted to dig his fingers into those curls. 

“So d’you have any idea how to find Allen?” Tyki asked, his speech more casual as well. 

“I can tap into the phone lines – know what the Order knows. Where was he seen last?”

“Moscow, I think. But it’s been a few weeks. He won’t be there now. Can you tap into any line you know the number of?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Tyki smiled. “Then we can hear what the other Noah known as well.”

Lavi got excited at the prospect.

“Say, you must be looking forward to seeing your friends after all this time. Even though it must be tense for them.”

Look at Tyki, being all sympathetic…But the truth was that he had mixed feelings about seeing his friends. “I do. Of course. But I don’t feel much like my old self right now.”

Tyki laughed hard at that. “Man, can I sympathize with that!” 

Lavi laughed too. “How could I forget who I was talking to?” 

“I know what it feels like to think differently from my friends, too. When I first became a Noah, I was living both lives. But even when I was Light Tyki I knew I wasn’t one of them anymore. And that, if the whole town got blown to hell I wouldn’t cry about it, unless my friends were mixed up in it too. They were my last anchor to those kinds of feelings. But eventually, that was gone too.”

Lavi nodded his understanding. He knew that in the end, it wasn’t a moral failing on his part. Tyki can’t resist the Noah part of himself, even if he managed to rail against it. He offered his own honesty in return. “Even before I came here, I couldn’t relate to most of them. So many of them just believe in what they were taught to be believe by their families. And the Church…isn’t always right. I believe in doing the right thing, yeah, but not that the Church necessarily knows what that even looks like.”

Tyki laughed again, but more softly this time. “We agree on this, too, Lavi. Who knew we would have so much in common.” 

Lavi looked at him probingly then, not knowing if he was disparaging the members of the Order, which wasn’t Lavi’s intent. 

“This isn’t just the Noah in me talking,” Tyki elaborated. “I was never one for the church. So much self-deprecation, and denial of the self.” 

That…didn’t sound unreasonable to Lavi, actually. He nodded in agreement. Then talked a bit about some of the others schools of thought that aligned better to the Noah’s way of thinking. It turned out he wasn’t a stranger to the concepts – his noble education at play. 

They got closer and closer as they talked, more and more animated, and Lavi was surprised at how much he was enjoying himself. 

Then Tyki flashed a candid smile at him, and he got those butterflies again. Tyki raised his hand, and moved it toward Lavi as if he might brush the hair out of his face – then stopped short, and put his hand down. 

Then, he looked all Noah again.

“Lavi,” Tyki said instead, “our little game of rewards has been fun,” he said sincerely, “but don’t feel obligated to take it further. What you’re doing for me, and what I’m doing for you, is something bigger than a game.”

Lavi nodded. Tyki was helping him escape. Escape. It was a fantastic outcome. 

But he had actually been looking forward to a fitting reward, if he was being honest. ‘What would qualify as fitting’, he couldn’t help but ask himself. There is nothing equal to freedom - but they could try. 

“I want to,” Lavi said, without knowing he would commit it to words before they came out of his mouth. 

Tyki smiled devilishly back at him. “Well, that’s something entirely different, isn’t it?” He scooted himself closer so that their legs were touching on the couch, and their faces were close together. 

Lavi’s entire body was on fire from the sudden, intense closeness - and the focus that Tyki was putting upon him. “I want to, too,” he said softly. “I want you. You’re sharp, and cute as hell, and so fiery I could just…” He looked at Lavi intensely. Then, “I know I can be…overwhelming. But you, Lavi, you match me so beautifully.”

Lavi felt his cheeks heat up even more. No one’s ever talked to him this way before. 

Tyki seemed even more enamored with him as he looked at his blushing cheeks. 

“Did you know that your freckles stand out more when you blush like that?” Tyki asked in a soft voice. “It’s so cute.” 

“I didn’t,” he said, blown away again by the comment. “Did you know that your mole just makes you even more handsome? That you are not in-fact ugly in the least?” 

Tyki laughed, leaned in, and kissed him. He smelled liked his cigarettes. 

It was still incredibly nice, like last time, but it also felt different. They weren’t just helping each other out anymore, with no idea of when this darkness will end - they were working together, and they were hopeful that they would get themselves out of that darkness. 

It was a partnership. They had the same goal. Instead of rewards, now it was…something like appreciation between them.

Tyki deepened the kiss with abandon, and pulled him tightly against him. Lavi wound his arms around his neck, then buried his fingers in his hair as he met Tyki’s intensity. 

“What do you need?” Tyki whispered eagerly in his ear, making Lavi shiver. Lavi had the sense that Tyki was frequently consumed by his passions. The thought that Lavi was one of them just made the redhead more eager himself. 

“I need you in me,” he said, making Tyki groan, and Lavi and kissed him hard. Tyki picked him up by the hips and stood, and Lavi wrapped his legs around him. Tyki brought them over to the bed as they continued to kiss, and toppled them both over so that Tyki lay on top of him. 

Lavi had only a moment to think, ‘Whoa, this is really happening,’ before Tyki ground himself against his dick. It was consuming and electric, and Lavi pushed back against him. 

“How do you like it?” Tyki asked curiously, as he kissed his neck. “Gentle? Rough? Slow? Fast? Tied down?” He bit his neck this time, and Lavi groaned. 

“Dunno. That?” Lavi answered back, emphasizing how he liked the bite on his skin. He could feel Tyki smile against his throat. “We could find out what else you like,” he offered, like he would enjoy the process of discovering these things very much. 

And Lavi didn’t really know the answers Tyki was looking for, so discovery sounded like a good idea. The only answer he could think of was ‘Normal??’ But he thought it would sound inexperienced against the Noah’s obvious familiarity. And Lavi didn’t really want ‘normal’ from Tyki, did he? “Yes,” he said simply, and Tyki laughed excitedly in response. 

Tyki pulled off his shirt and then his own. Felt lightly along his skin. His chest, abdomen, along his arms. He ghosted across his nipple, making him gasp. He pinched it lightly and kissed him again. Lavi moaned. Then he pinched a little harder, and it pulled a louder moan from his throat, and another exuberant laugh from Tyki. 

“What do you like?” Lavi asked him, not satisfied just being the subject of Tyki’s sexy experimentations. 

Tyki was pleased that he asked, and smiled. “All sorts of things,” he started. “Though it really depends on the partner. It’s like a dance.”

“Then, what do you want to do with me?”

He smiled again. “I’m still figuring it out, but right now I’m imagining you tied to the bed, asking me to go harder and harder.” Lavi’s mouth went dry, and he must have made an unsure expression because Tyki amended, “Only if you want to of course. Like I said, you would be asking for it – it’s a dance. But I’m getting the feeling that you’ll warm up to the idea as we go along.” And Lavi nodded, mollified, if still a little worried. 

“And before that?” Lavi asked, flipping them so that Lavi was straddling Tyki, and rubbing his hands up his chest. “What do want?”

“You could use that sharp tongue of yours,” Tyki suggested, and Lavi smiled. He bent down, and made his slow way down Tyki’s neck and chest with his mouth. Licks, and grazes of his teeth, and open mouth kisses. Tyki closed his eyes within the first few moments, breath getting shallower, then he watched him as he went lower. 

When he got to his stomach, he opened up Tyki’s pants – mouthed his dick through the material of his underwear, and ghosting warm breath over him. He could feel how hard he was, and tell the softness of his skin. Tyki’s strained noises prompted him to rub the length of him firmly with his hand, and then pull him out, and mouthing his naked cock. 

“You’re so thirsty for my dick,” Tyki told him. “Don’t hold back.” 

Shit, he was so right. Lavi groaned and licked up his length needily, making the Noah groan back in response. Then he engulfed him in his mouth, loving the feel of it. Tyki dug his hands into his hair appreciatively. 

“Suck me,” he told him, getting unraveled. And he did, with abandon, sucking in harder as he moved his heard, using a hand to help him. It pulled more noises from the Noah as he arched a little. Soon he was pulling Lavi off of him gently by the hair, and flipping them firmly so that Tyki was on top of him, looking at him like a predator again, giving Lavi a thrill. 

Tyki kissed him, and pushed his hardness against him emphatically, and Lavi wrapped a leg around him. Tyki reached between them, opened his pants, and delved right into his underwear to grasp his dick. He pulled him out and tugged him, pushed his tongue deeper into his mouth. He pulled off his pants and underwear urgently, and Lavi maneuvered to make it easier. Tyki’s hands were everywhere on him – threatening to overwhelm. 

Tyki grabbed him by the leg, slid his hand up it roughly, cupped his butt, and then grabbed it satisfyingly. His fingers slide to his hole, grazed it enticingly, massaged the rim to coax him into relaxing for him. A few minutes later, his slick, deft finger slipped inside, and Lavi groaned. 

“How much do you want me in you right now?” Tyki asked him, sliding his finger further.

Lavi knew what he was looking for. “I need your dick in me. So bad.” Lavi answered him. They kissed harder, Lavi hitched his leg higher invitingly, and Tyki stroked inside him with a needy exploration. 

Ok, yeah. Lavi liked the talking, too. Lavi gasped at the wonderful things Tyki was doing to him with his fingers. Encouraged to talk more, he told Tyki, “Yeah, just like that.” 

Tyki moved down his body and lapped along his dick with the tip of his tongue. Lavi’s never seen anything so overly sexual and un-self-conscious before. So incredibly sexy. 

Tyki wrapped his mouth around his dick and blew him enthusiastically while we worked him open. Lavi had to stop watching for fear of coming from the combination of seeing the way he swallowed him down and the look of lust-filled concentration on his face. Which still left the skillful interplay of suction, his tongue, his fist, and his fingers – all working together. 

Then, “Faster.” 

Tyki moved his fingers faster in him, making Lavi pant heavily. Then Tyki slowed down again. “Patience,” Tyki teased. 

“How are you being the patient one?” Lavi asked. 

“Painstaking practice,” Tyki replied. “Why? Do you want to wind me up past my limit? Set me loose on you?” he asked teasingly. 

Lavi felt a thrill run through him at the suggestion. “Something like that.”

Tyki smiled devilishly again. “Then make me,” he said with playful challenge, bringing Lavi’s arousal to new heights. 

Lavi sat up, and sat in front of Tyki. Wracking his brain for what he should do next. Something enticing. Something to drive him wild. 

He climbed into his lap, and Tyki held onto him with a smile. He ran his hands through the Noah’s hair, and bit at his neck. Ground against him so that their cocks rubbed against each other. Then he moved even closer, and Tyki leaned back on his hands accommodatingly, and now Lavi’s ass ground against his dick. Lavi told him, heated, “I want you, Tyki. I want you inside me. I want you to loosen that painstaking control over yourself, so that there’s nothing else on your mind but this. I know you want it to.” 

Tyki pressed his fingers harder into his hips as he spoke, and his expression became wilder, like he was indeed loosening that control. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll go too far?” he asked, half-teasing.

“Might you go too far?” he countered. Lavi found he wasn’t all that afraid, now that they needed each other the way they did. He could trust that Tyki had a taste for his freedom now, if nothing else, and wouldn’t jeopardize that. 

“No, I…Only if I let it,” he replied more seriously. “I won’t risk hurting you,” he promised. 

Lavi nodded, and kissed him hard. And Tyki pounced forward and pushed Lavi down under him. His hands where everywhere on him again, but more erratic this time, and he kicked off his pants and underwear without pause. 

Lavi opened his legs and Tyki immediately pushed his dick against his ass. “So, rough then?” he asked, looking for confirmation. 

“Yes, but not painful,” Lavi felt it was good to amend. 

Tyki nodded like it was a solemn promise, and maybe it was. Then he pushed into him solidly – pleasure all over his face. 

He took on a firm pace quickly, and Lavi was panting, wrapping his legs around him and pushing back needily. Then Tyki was adding jarring thrusts that had him crying out, making Tyki smile. 

Tyki put his arms over his head, and held onto his wrists – and Lavi groaned. Encouraged, Tyki kept his hold on him, smiling again. More sexy experiments, huh? 

“There’s something else you might like,” Tyki said after some time. “Go on your stomach.” He pulled out of him and gave him some room with and encouraging expression. 

Lavi did he asked, and Tyki leaned over him right away. “Maybe this, or,” Tyki grabbed him by the hips and lifted him so that his butt was in the air, “this. Yeah, the second is better.” 

“Then, yeah, this,” Lavi said, anticipating building. And Tyki thrust into him with enthusiasm from behind. Lavi was crying out again, electric pleasure running through him. “Fuck.” Tyki laughed in enjoyment, and grabbed his dick, adding firm strokes to the mixture of sensations. 

“You feel amazing,” Tyki told him. “So good. I could stay here all day.” Lavi moaned at his words – pushed back against him. And Tyki was back to irregular, jarring thrusts that drove him wild.

At length, Tyki slowed his pace, then turned Lavi onto his back, kissed him with complete abandon, and pushed back into him, holding onto his ass as he rolled his hips. Lavi wrapped his arms around his neck and did his best to keep up. 

“Wanna tie you down,” Tyki told him. “Can I?” He licked and bit at his neck while he waited for an answer. Lavi groaned and agreed. He was probably out of his mind, but so was Tyki. Tyki rummaged around in the drawer of his bedside table, and pulled out toy handcuffs, with black fuzz around it. Wrapped them around his wrists and around the headboard with practiced ease. “They have a release you can reach,” he pointed out. 

Lavi nodded, unconcerned. Tyki smirked, then pulled him by the hips so that his arms were taught, and fucked him hard. And Lavi was lost in it. So good. So jarring. Breathing so hard. The Noah sucked behind his ear and started stroking him in time. “Faster,” Lavi urged, and Tyki went faster. And Lavi came hard, crying out loudly. Tyki was smiling wide, coaxing out Lavi’s orgasm, until he was completely spent. 

And Tyki kept moving in him as the redhead released himself from the handcuffs. Lavi saw him lick the come off his hand – and now that topped the list as the most erotic thing Lavi’s ever seen, before coming himself, curling forward, growling out roughly.


	4. Chapter 4

Lavi was sleeping in his room, one arm bent over his head and the other resting on his stomach, when his door burst open and slammed hard against the wall. The sound startled Lavi awake, and he scrambled to a sitting position and looked over the doorway. Sheryl and Fidora, their shapes barely made visible by the scant hallway lighting, were storming over to him, and Lavi fought off his urge to recoil. He didn’t want to give them the satisfaction. Sheryl seemed even more unhinged than usual – seeming manic and scared. They yanked him from the bed and marched him in the hallway. Bookman was there as well, being escorted by Tyki. Bookman maintained his cool demeanor, and Tyki looked bored with a hand on Bookman’s arm. 

This wasn’t right. Not according to their plan with Tyki. Sheryl isn’t due back yet, and they were all going to leave tomorrow night. Instead, the look in Sheryl’s eyes makes Lavi think that he’s going to end their interrogations one way or the other – right now. 

They were led down to the basement roughly, and shoved hard into the room that Lavi would rather not ever see again. Bile rose in throat. They were too late. It was stupid to rely on Sheryl not coming home sooner. 

Well, the two Bookmen know what to do. They talked out this contingency long ago. They would say nothing. No matter what happens to either of them. Lavi schooled himself, his thoughts, so that only cold calculation stayed behind. 

And acceptance. Acceptance of what was going to happen to them.

Tremendous pain shot through Lavi, and he screamed. Crumpled to the ground after. His nerves twitched painfully with the aftershocks. 

“Last chance, Bookman,” Sheryl said. “I’m done. It’s up to you to save your Junior. You know what I want to know.”

Bookman was silent. 

Sheryl bent down to one knee, grabbed Lavi’s right arm roughly and slammed it to the ground. The rest of his body was held firmly still by his Noah power – no give to it whatsoever. “Will you want your apprentice if he can’t write?” he asked threateningly, pulling out a sword from his belt. 

Lavi fought to keep his calm. He was going to take his hand now. He stared blankly at Sheryl’s face. 

Tyki clucked his tongue. “So dramatic,” he told Sheryl. “I can do that more cleanly, you know. Less to clean up after.” 

Sheryl laughed as if surprised Tyki would make himself useful. “If you want to, go ahead.” He got up and took a step away, still keeping the redhead still. 

Lavi looked, still blankly, at Tyki, and couldn’t read his face. The Junior Bookman stared at him. Has Tyki given up, then, in light of this? Decided to stay in the fold now that things weren’t so easy? Or, was there the chance…

Tyki grasped his arm below the elbow, and told him casually, “Nothing personal.” 

Lavi braced for the pain that would come. But instead felt a tingle, first through his arm where Tyki was grabbing him, and then through his whole body. He no longer felt the slight pull to his limbs that Sheryl’s power caused. What? He didn’t move freely though, didn’t let on that he could. 

When Lavi put his focus back on him, Tyki was already reaching for Bookman with his other hand. He threw him over his shoulder at the same time as he hauled Lavi up to standing with his grasp on his arm. 

Sheryl was livid, face contorted. Obviously trying to use his power to stop them all, arm extended, and completely failing. “Overriding me, brother? And in the most subversive way, too. Just your style, isn’t it?” 

“I tried to reason with you already. The Earl wants them in once piece. I’m taking them right to him,” Tyki said. “Help me, won’t you Fidora?” he asked.

Fidora was torn, not knowing if he should help given Sheryl’s displeasure. He looked back and forth between the two of them. 

“Fine then, stay, it doesn’t make a difference to me,” Tyki said as he kept them moving toward the door. “But the Earl, on the other hand…” 

It pushed Fidora into reluctant action, still torn. He took up leading Bookman out the door, and Tyki kept a hold on Lavi. 

For a brief moment, Tyki lost his hold on Bookman in the exchange, and Sheryl, who had been watching their progression like a seething hawk, pounced on the opportunity and broke his right arm in an instant. Bookman bellowed from the pain as Tyki renewed the physical contact. “Stop it,” Tyki barked at Sheryl. “The Earl’s had enough of your shit. His indulgence will only go so far.”

“Look at you, talking as if you understand the situation better than I do,” Sheryl shot back with contempt. “You know nothing. Just the Knight on this chessboard, taking orders. I’m trying to learn more for all of us, and you don’t even care.”

“I hate it, too, you know. The way that the Earl, and Road, and Wisely know so much they’re not saying. But I know enough to not cross him too much,” was Tyki’s reply as he kept going. Lavi never heard him speak this way to him before. It seemed a long time coming. 

“Don’t say such things about our precious family!”

They were at the door now, and Tyki stopped just long enough to say, “Those three…only fit into your neat little game of family so much as they want to indulge you.” 

Then they were out the door and walking down the basement hallway. Fidora was getting even more uncomfortable than before. “Fidora, would you get their Innocence? I’m sure the Earl will want to keep them over the Exorcist’s heads the same as we have. We’ll be heading to the Arc gate.” 

“S…sure,” Fidora said, gave Bookman to Tyki, and peeled off to a nearby room. 

Lavi’s mind was spinning. Shit. Were they being delivered straight to the Millenium Earl? Or was Tyki getting them out right now? 

“Tyki?” Lavi asked searchingly. 

“I’m getting us out,” he said low to them. “Play along.” 

Lavi’s heart beat hard in his chest. He looked at Bookman, who was trying to ignore the agony he was in, and saw a similar sense of hopefulness and wariness to what Lavi was feeling himself. Tyki could be lying to make them compliant. They would just have to stay vigilant. “Ok,” he told Tyki. 

They went to the room at the end of the hall, and when they went inside, there was indeed an Arc gate open there. 

“Are we going through?” Lavi asked. He remembered Tyki saying its use could be easily traced. 

“No, just wait.” 

Fidora came in a moment later and said he had their Innocence. 

“Thanks Fidora,” he said pleasantly. He gave Bookman to Fidora again, and when they were close, he used the hand that he had been holding onto Lavi with and suddenly and smoothly sent raw energy through his palm without hesitation – going through Fidora’s chest, leaving a gaping hole, pleasant expression never leaving his face. Fidora looked shocked back at Tyki, and a second later crumbled to the ground face first. 

Tyki didn’t pause to notice the reaction thought. “Get your Innocence,” he told Lavi seriously, which Lavi did quickly and gratefully. He felt the satisfying resonance of it. Something he hasn’t felt in a long time. He have the other to Bookman, who took it with his thanks. 

Lavi’s heart soared. Tyki killed Fidora, and gave them their Innocence. It meant that he was sincere in getting them out of there. Or at least, he thought Fidora was dead. Noah aren’t exactly easy to kill so it was best to make sure. “Is he dead?”

Tyki looked at Fidora critically, then lifted his leg and smashed his heel down, once, twice, three times, until they heard a terrible crack. Tyki’s expression was getting more darkly gleeful by the second as he went. “It appears so,” he said emphatically, riding the high of his bloodlust. The redhead thought it was a stark reminder that Tyki Mikk had no true allies. At best, he worked with whoever it was most beneficial for him to work with. It could be Lavi under his heel one day if he wasn’t careful. 

Lavi tucked away the thought, and focused on the fact that they should keep moving. “Good. Thank you, Tyki. Let’s go.” But then he realized he didn’t know where they should be going from here. Just run out the front door at this point? “Uhh…do you know where we should go?” he asked. 

“I’ll send for a carriage. It needs to look like a normal sort of outing. Not that I’ve ever brought you anywhere before, but I can think of an excuse.” Lavi took on a greater appreciation of Tyki’s ability to wing it when things got chaotic. He always did admire it really - it was just disconcerting sometimes to be subjected to it. But this time, Tyki was absolutely their best shot. They had their Innocent now, which was a huge plus. But even with that the prospect of busting out of the place would have been daunting. 

Tyki opened to door the room they were in, and Sheryl stood menacingly on the other side of it. Was he...listening in? Or still pissed about before? 

“Not using the Arc are you?” Sheryl accused. “Are you really taking them Lord Millenium?” 

Tyki was speechless for a moment, then replied, “The Junior was scared of being sent to the Earl, and just informed me that he can tap any phone. I thought that might be useful for us to learn more than we do. I was actually heading back to you.” 

Sheryl was startled, then he twisted his mouth in wicked grin. “Well then, let’s get them to work.”

“I’ll need some equipment,” Lavi said, letting his fear show to feed into Tyki’s story. 

“I’ll have to go out and buy what they need, and take the Cyclops with me, since I would have no idea what I was looking at in a store like that.” 

“Alright, be quick about it Junior,” Sheryl said, and turned around. “And Tyki, tell someone to put Bookman back in his room and fix him up.” Tyki gave Sheryl a hateful look behind his back at him giving him orders. 

~

A human looking Tyki, and Lavi, walked along Main Street. It was the late afternoon, and not very busy according to Tyki. The Noah had one hand in his pocket and other held a cigarette. Lavi’s arms were at his sides, as he dismissed using the false casualness of placing his hands on the back of his head. He thought for a moment of the ease with which Tyki made Fidora’s body disappear. The way he called the void – a small sphere of blackness – to where he was, and when it disappeared again, so had any trace of Fidora. He found that ease to be both disturbing and impressive. 

“We could just leave from here,” Tyki told him suddenly, probingly. “Not go back to the mansion at all. Just…go anywhere. Wherever we wanted,” the Noah tempted.

“Not without Bookman,” Lavi said vehemently, without hesitation. 

“It’ll be a lot harder that way,” Tyki lamented. 

“Look, I’m not going to vouch for you if you leave Bookman behind,” the redhead said with finality. 

“Fine,” Tyki said in begrudging acceptance. “Then let’s do this: You set up the phone taps, let Sheryl play around with that for a while, and then we leave tonight. Same plan, but moved up, and with Sheryl home – hopefully blissfully unaware.” 

Lavi nodded his agreement. “Isn’t the Earl taking a break anyway? Sheryl won’t be able to test it right away. I could just make a connection to somewhere else and he wouldn’t know the difference.”

“That’s true. He wouldn’t know for a few days. Do want you want. But not if it’s going to be obvious right away, like the line for a busy store or something.” 

“Of course not. What d ’you take me for?” Lavi groused. 

“A man of exceeding intelligence,” Tyki offered with a flourish. 

Lavi laughed a little. Then noticed an out of business shop, with a window sign taken down and placed on a dusty table within. It had a phone number. “Perfect,” the redhead declared, “I’ll use that number. No one will be calling that store for anything.” Tyki smirked at him in appreciation, and Lavi got butterflies in his stomach. He pushed down the feeling. 

The redhead’s nose perked up as they passed some food carts, making his mouth water and the void in his stomach grumble loudly. He hasn’t been allowed a good meal in a while. When they got closer he could see the man at the cart was selling steak sandwiches. They looked…absolutely delicious. 

Tyki seemed to have noticed his reaction, smiling at him, and diverting to the cart to buy two sandwiches and apples. He handed Lavi’s over and he took it gratefully. He ate the sandwich quickly, and the apple right after, as they walked. He couldn’t keep in the delighted sounds he was making as he ate. So good. 

Tyki looked at him appreciatively again and handed him the unfinished half of his sandwich. “You know, I could have liked you…if I was human,” Tyki commented. Which startled Lavi mid-bite. The lines were getting blurrier with them,” he thought as he chewed, “and it was getting harder to keep up with. Was he ingratiating himself because of their partnership, or was there some truth to his comment? Maybe he was in the middle human-practice with him once again. It was probably…something in between all that, Lavi thought. For a moment, he let himself enjoy it. 

“Well,” he said after he swallowed, some pink in his cheeks, “I might have liked you back”. Tyki put a gentle hand at the small of his back with an open and all too human expression on his face. He rubbed a small circle there with his fingers, sending a wave of tingling warmth through Lavi, and then he kept it there until they reached the store they were looking for. Lavi let him.

~

In the middle of the night, Lavi lay in bed with a bedside candle lit, awake and in his clothes, when Tyki came through the wall from the hallway to his room without a sound. He gave Lavi a small nod and the redhead got out of bed fluidly, and went to the door. 

Bookman was leaning against the wall, his arm in a cast and sling, waiting for him, and Lavi put a supporting arm around his good side to prepare for walking. They made their slow way down the stairs in the semi-dark. 

When they got to the entryway, and opened the front door, they heard a sudden frustrated yelling coming from the basement stairs. Sheryl, coming up from listening to the phone tap that would have no callers for the foreseeable future. 

Lavi placed Bookman against the wall outside the door. They could hear Sheryl’s grumbling as he ascended, not happy with the continued silence on the other end of the line. And Tyki, after a moment’s consideration, closed the door with he and Lavi still on the inside. 

Tyki was still standing there, looking contemplative, and Lavi looked at him, racking his own brain. Lavi decided he would hide behind the nearby couch and set over to do just that, only to be stopped by Tyki’s hand on his bicep. What? What was he thinking? He probed him with a look. 

Sheryl reached the landing. “Who’s there?” he asked imperiously. 

And Tyki moved, fluidly and silently, in front of Lavi. Not to hide, but to lean close to the redhead, which only served to confuse him. The Noah arched his brow, asking for his indulgence, and crashed his mouth to his, pushing him into the door. Lavi returned it, keying into the ploy. The thrill of the deception, combined with the rush of their escape, and the intensity that always came with kissing Tyki, all came together in a crescendo that had Lavi’s blood pumping. The sounds of their kissing and the movement of clothing filling the otherwise silent room. An uncontrollable sigh escaping Lavi’s mouth as they went on. 

Sheryl made an annoyed noise. “Tyki?” he called knowingly. 

“Nnnn,” he intoned in acknowledgement, never breaking their kiss. 

“When I said to be discreet, hiding in the dark out in the open is not what I meant,” Sheryl chided him. 

“My mistake,” Tyki replied when he broke the kiss, his tone completely unrepentant, then kissed him again messily, tongue exploring his mouth, as if trying to increase the lewdness of it all on purpose. Lavi could imagine the deep frown on Sheryl’s face, then he heard him turn around sharply and walk away, up the stairs, presumably to bed. 

Tyki pulled away, and smiled at him wickedly before stepping back. It prompted Lavi back into action himself, pushing off the wall and getting to Bookman. They were almost there, now. 

When they were all on the outside, door shut behind them, Tyki halted them silently, and closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them again and said low, “There are no Akuma out here at the moment. We’re ok.” Then he nodded his head to where Lavi knew they had to go next, the stable. 

They hitched a carriage. Tyki checked again that they were clear, gave the redhead a supremely, distractingly, satisfied look, and they were on their way. Tyki drove, obviously familiar with how it was done, and Lavi and Bookman stayed inside the carriage. Here too, they were slow-going, and Tyki did his best to keep the horses quiet with occasional soothing sounds.

Now, to town, and freedom, and Allen Walker.


	5. Chapter 5

A few days later, Lavi, Bookman, and Tyki were half a continent away. They traveled far and fast, taking train after train nonstop, until they reached Austria. 

And here, they rested. Bookman and Lavi needed it – desperately. Sleeping long, and eating as much as they could manage. And Tyki kept watch for pursuit by the Noah, thankfully never finding any. 

It felt like a heavy weight was lifting from Lavi. Not that he didn’t have anything to worry about now. He had to keep Tyki in check, and think about their next move – to find Allen. Still, being out of that hellhole was such a huge relief. And to have his Innocence in his possession again. And to be mostly healed. Except for his mind, he knew. It would take a significant amount of time for him to feel as safe as he actually was. 

Lavi and Tyki walked the main street together, looking to pick up some dinner for them all. Bookman still wasn’t up to leaving his room for long. 

Tyki was pleasant to be around, which was often the case these days. Well, Tyki wasn’t the only one that needed practice at being nice these days. Lavi needed it too. And when they were both trying, it was surprisingly easy for them to find a rhythm. 

He walked as often as he could, happy to be out and about in the world. It made him look at Tyki differently as well, that happiness. So what if they were both pretending? It was nice. It added to his happiness. And he knew enough to keep an eye out for any change of heart. It would be less of an issue if there were more of them – when they catch up with Allen and Kanda. Did..did he want it to continue then?

When Tyki flirted with him, he flirted back. And when he moved to kiss him when they were on a side street, Lavi leaned into it, kissed him deeper. Added his own enthusiasm to it. One coming from a different place inside him than it had before. 

~

Later that night they were on a shared balcony that led to both of their rooms. Tyki was smoking, and they were both leaning their arms on the railing looking out over the lamp lit town.

“Y’know, I’ll understand if you don’t want to continue on as we have. We’ll be seeing your friends soon, after all, and I’m sure they wouldn’t approve,” Tyki commented. 

Lavi looked at him, then looked away again for a moment. Then turned back and really looked at him, deep into his eyes. Tyki’s posture and face turned a little defensive, then relaxed and he stared back, never looking away. Lavi saw his hopefulness, and resolve, and criticality, and uncertainty in his eyes. That was enough. So, in answer to Tyki’s question he said, “You’re our ally, for as long as you want to be free of the Earl.” Tyki didn’t deny this proclamation. Lavi thought a moment more, leaned in and kissed him again, more heated. 

“You may think differently when you see them,” Tyki warned casually.

Lavi bit his lip. All he really wanted to focus on now was them. “Then let that come when it comes. But I don’t think so. It doesn’t mean I want to surprise them first thing, but, there’s no reason to stop this. Unless you wanted to…”

Tyki kissed him, and said, “No, I’d rather take the sure thing than having to go out all the time looking to get laid,” he teased. 

Lavi laughed, more freely than he ever had with him. “Sure thing, huh?”

“Well, as long I show my appreciation,” he said with a low voice, charming air, and small quirk of his lips, and Lavi was already melting. Was taken away by their freedom, and the peace of the night, and Tyki’s good company. 

“You’re free to try,” Lavi said, thinking ‘just kiss me.’ Tyki’s eyes flashed, and he leaned in slowly grabbing his cheek with his hand and kissed him with feeling. And Lavi responded in kind, burying his hand in his hair sensuously, and pressing himself closer to the Noah. They kissed under the moonlight, growing drunk on each other. Tyki wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him tight to him as they kissed ceaselessly for long minutes. 

“Is it working?” Tyki teased at length. “Do you feel appreciated?” Lavi shuttered, thinking of all the ways that Tyki could continue to appreciate him. Then he bit his neck and sucked his skin between his teeth and Lavi moaned. 

He pushed his hardened dick against Tyki’s leg for emphasis and said, “I’m starting to.” Tyki smiled and pushed his leg against his straining length, making Lavi whine with need. 

Tyki kissed him again, dove his tongue into his mouth. Kissed him with abandon for some time, occasionally biting his lip. Then he pulled back, and brushed his cheek against his. “How about a game,” Tyki asked him against his ear, making him tingle. 

“What kind of game?”

“The ‘Don’t get caught game’ he said smiling, and starting to undo his pants. 

“We’re outside. And Bookman’s sleeping in the room,” Lavi protested. 

“So? It’s dark out. And that’s what makes the game fun,” Tyki said with emphasis, and dropped to his knees in front of Lavi, making Lavi groan at the sight. He ran his finger up Lavi’s still clothed length and Lavi closed his eye. “Are you in?” 

All the reasons not to flew out of his head at the feeling of Tyki’s finger along his dick – knowledge that his mouth was so close. Bookman was a heavy sleeper, it was probably fine. They could easily go into Tyki’s own room instead, but Lavi found that he was intrigued. Wanted to know what made Tyki tick. For a start, he knew he constantly rode the edge of calculated risk. But he was also shameless. If he did get caught he would just laugh. And Lavi decidedly was not. And yet…”I’m in,” Lavi said back, opening his eye again and looking down at Tyki. 

Tyki smiled up at him, and then moved like a snapped trap, grabbing him by the hips, and pushing Lavi against the wall. The redhead held in his surprised gasp as Tyki pushed down his pants and underwear just enough to free his dick. He saw the way Tyki looked at it hungrily, and it made him twitch in anticipation, and made a coil of want tighten deep in his gut. 

Tyki wrapped his hand around him, mouthed it softly for a moment, relishing the feel of it against his lips. Lavi let out tiny gasps at the feel of his lips on him. Then he took him in, and Lavi bit back his moan. He grabbed his hips and went deeper, and Lavi found that if he let his stomach muscles flutter in appreciation, then he could contain his sounds better. Tyki noticed, and put his hand on his stomach to feel his reaction, then moved it slowly up his torso, under his shirt, on to his chest – pushing his shirt up – and down again. 

There was nothing in the world but Tyki’s mouth – up and down his length, sucking, swirling his tongue – and his hand – trailing and palming along his torso in turns, pinching his nipple. 

Lavi could hear a group walking by underneath their balcony, chatting loudly. Tyki didn’t stop, and Lavi didn’t ask him to. If anything, it was turning him on more. A woman below squealed with laughter. Tyki pushed deeper as he sucked him now, all the way to the back of his throat. Oh god. 

He massaged his balls and he continued on. Sucked harder and faster. Lavi was beyond caring now. If the town blew up around them he wouldn’t care as long as Tyki kept going. Wanton. Shameless. Just like Tyki. And it was freeing. He dug his hands firmly into Tyki’s hair, and his arousal reached new heights as he let go entirely. He came hard, in thick spurts into Tyki’s mouth. A strangled groan tearing from his throat. And Tyki didn’t pull away, he moaned around his pulsing dick, and sucked, and coaxed, wanting more and more. When Lavi was spent, Tyki let him go from his mouth, and smirked up at him. Then he stood up and kissed him. Lavi tasted himself on Tyki’s tongue. It could have been from passion, or an urge to share. Lavi wasn’t sure which. 

“You did well being quiet until the end there,” Tyki said huskily. “But damn did I love the sounds you made. How about next time, I’ll see how loud I can make you instead?”

Lavi laughed, even as he felt a renewed twinge of want at his words. Tyki was never short on ideas was he? “Sure. But now it’s your turn,” Lavi said, low and blissed out. 

Tyki smiled beautifully at him. “Then I won’t keep you.” 

Lavi turned them around and moved flush against him, and kissed him while he undid his pants, and soon he found himself on his knees, Tyki’s cock jutting out in front of him. He pumped his length a few times, watching the way it moved in his hand, enjoying the pleased moans that came from Tyki’s throat. He had salivated from the sight of it the first time they did something like this, and now was no different. He sunk his mouth over him, making Tyki lean heavily into the wall. 

Lavi started slowly, moving his head, sucking firmly. Soon Tyki’s hands where in his hair. His breathing was slow and deep. Still entirely too composed, in Lavi’s opinion. So he moved faster, sucked harder. He wanted to know what he tasted like. 

“So good,” Tyki told him under his breath. “Your mouth is so good around my dick, Lavi.” Tyki was panting now, and pushing his head onto him deeper. It made Lavi groan. He didn’t know he would react that way, but he found he liked it. The Noah thrust shallowly into his mouth, and Lavi made a whine in his throat, as Tyki growled low. Lavi held onto his hips now to steady himself, and Tyki thrust more boldly into his mouth. After a few times he choked, though, and had to pull away. Suppressing his coughs were difficult, but he tried, eyes watering. He got the urge to laugh and he looked up at Tyki while he smiled, who was quite amused himself. 

Lavi listened for a moment to see if maybe Bookman woke up, but he didn’t hear anything. He didn’t hear any chiding words in his head either. He might have expected an ‘idiot apprentice’ from him at the very least if he had woke him. Lavi nodded to Tyki that they should continue, smile still on his face. 

He stood up, and still smiling, kissed Tyki, hoping to bring the mood back to where it had been before. It didn’t take very long. Their kisses went from playful back to heated in no time, and Lavi found himself back on his knees. Tyki was more careful this time, thrusting into his mouth just a little, then more and more, Lavi keeping up better. 

A larger group passed by under their balcony this time. And again, Tyki didn’t stop. And then he was coming, right into his mouth, Lavi tasted him, and swallowed what he could. Coaxed more from him with his tongue.

Tyki slid down the wall and sat on the ground, and Lavi looked back at him, satified. After a few moments with his eyes closed, he pulled Lavi to him and kissed him slow. “Sleep in my room?” he asked. 

And it surprised Lavi that Tyki would want to sleep next to him. Maybe even cuddled up together. It was rather affectionate. Well, thought of another way, it was a pleasant sort of thing. Maybe not as surprising after all coming from the Noah of Pleasure. It was like putting on a warm sweater. Or something. Just nice. Or, maybe it was his continued attempt at feeling more human. To question it might ruin it, so Lavi, thinking that would be nice after all said, “Sure,” and smiled at him. 

Lavi laid down next to Tyki, and Tyki pulled him in right away, drawing him close, with his arm around his waist. Lavi felt the pleasant warmth of his arm, and the radiated heat from his body, and moved all the way against him, head to his chest. And it felt so good to be held this way. And yes, this was indeed cuddling. Lavi closed his eye, awash in the feeling, and quickly fell asleep. 

~

Bookman had parted ways with them for the Order not long before Lavi picked up the tip to come to London from a wiretap.

They were in London now, beating the Order there - since Allen apparently abruptly cut off their use of the Arc. Lavi thought it was exceedingly considerate that he let them use it for this long, even as they hunted him, to be honest. 

Lavi and Tyki walked the most populated areas first in search of Allen and Kanda, and had to luck. They went to an Inn in a less bustling area to sleep and start their search fresh there in the morning. After they got a room, they went back outside and leaned against the wall while Tyki had a cigarette. Lavi, feeling a little anxious at their lack of progress was tempted to have one himself. Tyki gave one to him with a smile. 

Tyki was continuing to act more and more pleasant as the days wore on. It made it easy for Lavi to feed off of, be nice in return. It made Lavi feel more human himself. Undoing some of the damage being captive had done to him. 

“Are you feeling appreciated today?” Tyki asked him teasingly. 

Lavi laughed, and nudged him playfully in the shoulder. 

“Lavi?” he heard someone exclaim from a distance away on the street. Lavi turned his head and saw that it was Allen Walker. He had his hand in a bag of pastries that Kanda was holding. The familiarly the move implied made it seem off to Lavi. They were getting along that well? Well, it’s not like Lavi had any room to talk - what with how he was ‘getting on’ with Tyki. 

“Allen!” he called excitedly as he pushed off the wall and came over. “Kanda!” he called next. 

Allen looked at who Lavi had obviously been paling around with. “Tyki Mikk,” Allen said with distrust. Kanda shoved the bag at Allen and his sword appeared in his hand. A sword of blood. 

“Crystal type?!” Lavi cried. It made Lavi pause in his steps. “Tyki helped me escape,” Lavi told them. He probably should have started with that bit even before starting to approach Allen. 

Allen’s expression turned to one of surprise. “He…did?”

“I did,” Tyki said, stepping up next to Lavi. “And I hope that earns me the chance for you to hear me out.” 

“About what?” Allen asked, still looking clueless. 

“Guys, we shouldn’t talk about this here. Let’s all go inside. We have a room here already.” 

~

Now in their room, Allen and Kanda sat at the small table, and Lavi and Tyki sat on the ends of each of their beds. Tyki poured himself a glass of wine before getting comfortable – though he offered, no one else had any. 

“You share a room?” Kanda asked, incredulous. 

“I’ve had to trust him a lot more than to not kill me in my sleep before now,” Lavi said back. 

After savoring a few sips, Tyki began. “Lavi had a few interesting things to say to me while he was with us. Nothing against the Order, and nothing of the truth of the past, to Sheryl’s dismay,” he assured. “But, they were interesting to me, even if they were meant to rile me up most of the time.” He had Allen and Kanda’s full attention now. “The most persuasive thing he said, Allen – and he was trying to be persuasive here and not a brat – was that you and I have something in common.” Lavi smiled at being called a brat. “That you’re fighting the Noah inside you,” Lavi could see Allen’s tormented expression at that, “just as I’m fighting to keep my sense of self. I know that, as things are, the Noah will overcome me completely one day. I feel it happening little by little. And, I don’t want that to happen to me. Maybe…our problems are similar enough that we can agree to figure it out together.” 

Allen was floored for a long moment, and then he recovered enough to say, “If you’re asking for help Tyki, I’ll help you. And you wouldn’t owe me anything.” 

“I can’t accept that,” Tyki said, “How can I trust your offer if you’re getting nothing out of it yourself?”

“Because he’s Allen,” Lavi said. Kanda scoffed. “But Allen, I think it should be a partnership. I’ll help, too.” Allen smiled at him for his offer. “Lavi. You’re willing to go against the Order?”

“Absolutely. I can’t just leave it all to you can I? It won’t be easy after all.”

“It won’t,” Allen agreed. “It hasn’t been.” Allen let some of his weariness show for a moment. 

“And you, Yu?” he asked. Kanda grit his teeth in supreme irritation. “Kanda,” Lavi amended calmly, just as he was opening his mouth to retort. Kanda stayed quiet for a moment in confusion, not knowing what to do with a Lavi that would correct himself. 

He did it because he already decided that there was no going back to being that version of himself. He wouldn’t be ‘Lavi’ as they used to know him, but neither would he be the wreck he was at the mansion. He would become…something in-between – someone closer to his true self. The situation seemed to warrant a strong dose of honestly from everyone involved, after all. And also, the idea was really appealing to Lavi if he was being honest with himself. 

“I already decided to help Allen see this through. That hasn’t changed,” Kanda said. Allen looked a little bemused at his words, though not surprised - so he’s heard it before. Kanda’s change of heart was intriguing to Lavi, but he knew better than to pry too much at once. He would find out though. 

“Alright, Tyki. Partners,” Allen said, decided, sticking out his hand as he stood up and moved a couple steps closer to him. 

Tyki stood up as well and stepped forward to meet him, and shook his hand. 

They talked for a while longer about what a partnership really means, until it got quite late. Tyki offered to go buy them something for dinner. And when he was about to leave the room, Lavi, perhaps by habit, and his regained comfort around the other Exorcists, pulled him in by the arm and kissed him goodbye. Tyki looked back at him, pleased, and fluidly left the room. 

Lavi froze in place, just remembering that he shouldn’t have done that just now, when he hadn’t told Allen and Kanda about them yet. 

“What the hell, Lavi?!” Allen yelled. And Lavi could hear Tyki cackle as he walked down the hallway and away from this imminent disaster. 

“So, it turned out Tyki and I had a lot in common, too?” Lavi tried, hand sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. 

“You complete moron!” Kanda said emphatically. “More like traitor.” 

“I won’t argue with you on the ‘moron’ part,” Lavi allowed. “But seriously though, it was rough there in the mansion. Cut me some slack.” 

“Rough?” Kanda asked, unconvinced. 

Lavi thought he wasn’t doing a good job of explaining it, the way he was going. So he dropped his apologetic expression slowly, and looked at them with a seriousness he never showed them before. That only Allen had seen for a short time when Road was playing with his mind. 

“It was rough,” he said again, though it resonated in a completely different way this time, and their anger dissipated quickly. “I was tortured. Repeatedly. For months. Without any idea of how long I would be there. Wondering if I would die there. Nearly did a few times. And sometimes, I wished that I had... Until Tyki got me out. I know what he is. But it happened anyway. The same way he’s all of our allies now.”

“Lavi,” Allen said, full of compassion. A tear slid down his cheek. For him, Lavi thought. He cried for him. Because he was his friend. “I’m so sorry.” A tear slid down Lavi’s check in answer. 

Kanda’s face was set, not knowing what to do when confronted with this sort of honesty. 

“I missed you,” Lavi said to Allen, lump in his throat. He had been entirely emotionless moment ago, and Allen pulled him out of it - and then some. He was so grateful. 

“I missed you too, Lavi. Hey, don’t worry. We’ll figure everything out. We’re in this together.” Allen hugged him and it thawed him even more. Lavi hugged him back - hard. 

Maybe he could do this after all. 

Kanda looked away, arms crossed, in embarrassment at their hugging. But he didn’t contradict Allen. 

“Right. Together.”


End file.
